For seniors looking for assisted living or memory care, it can be hard to find a setting that feels like home.

Comfort and familiarity are important factors for anyone, but especially for seniors who need extra care and support.

Godwin Dixon and Teresa Whittington RN BSN, recognized the need for something different in the senior care field and decided to make a change. Dixon & Whittington co-founded and co-own Teresa’s House, an assisted living and memory care community in McKinney that opened in 2020 and offers seniors something other facilities do not have: an actual house.

“Seniors, especially those with memory challenges, often live in their past memories, and most everybody was raised in a home,” Dixon said. “When you put them in a facility, it’s uncomfortable and unrecognizable and many, especially in memory care, are always trying to leave to “go home”. In our setting, they are “home” in a spacious, beautiful house and they feel like this is where they’re supposed to be and it works.”

Teresa's House is a beautiful, concierge home model which functions as a neighborhood, community and care setting all in one. Located at Craig Ranch in McKinney, the Cul-de-sac neighborhood is made up of three homes with each featuring beautiful open kitchen, living, den and dining rooms for residents to enjoy. Recognizing the importance of both truly kind and competent staff, the homes are staffed 24/7 with certified and trained staff members who are either state certified medication aides or state certified nursing assistants. In addition, Teresa’s House has a nurse on-site at all times.

Part of the reason for starting Teresa’s House was to work with individuals on a smaller scale so that their care could be truly individualized. Dixon and Whittington had both led large communities for most of their 30+ year careers, including the Presbyterian senior care system in Dallas where Dixon was CEO and Whittington was COO. As an RN, Whittington knew that individual needs got lost in the large settings and that the small house model was the way to go. They found that design in a new senior care model called Home Plus, which they first saw from a friend in Kansas.

“When we walked in, it wasn’t a facility—it was a house,” he said. It wasn’t just homelike – it was home and the residents, family members and staff loved it.

Teresa’s House is made up of three houses with varying levels of care. The first care level is assisted living, the second is memory care and the third is advanced care. Each house holds 12 to 16 seniors which is the perfect amount for fun group activities while still being small enough to know everyone individually, Dixon said.

Cutting corners is common in senior care, but not at Teresa’s House where the mantra is “the right moral decision is the right business decision." Throughout the building process, air quality and safety was an important focus. The attention to air safety paid dividends when Teresa’s House opened in July 2020—right as the COVID-19 pandemic was raging. COVID-19 has never spread in any of the Teresa’s House buildings, and the assisted care building has never even had a single case. The memory care and advanced care sections each had just one case of COVID-19 which was introduced from the outside, but the virus did not spread within the community. With experts predicting more years of COVID ahead, this is especially important.

Dixon said the success of Teresa’s House is due to the small size and individualized attention staff provide, and that’s not changing. Kind, caring, competent and committed staff and leadership are what sets Teresa’s House apart.

Both Dixon and co-owner Teresa Whittington are hands-on leaders and do not anticipate growing too large. Their attention to detail at Teresa’s House shows and the proof is in the awards. The community has won Best In McKinney in 2020, 2021 and Dixon expects to win again in 2022.

“Everybody would like to be cared for in-home, but nobody’s home was built for senior care and being by yourself is not good for you,” Dixon said. Teresa’s House is the right size and the right design to provide the best. When asked, “Why do we win best in McKinney every year and have all five-star reviews?” Dixon responds “Because we spend the time and are personally involved with our staff, residents and family members. We personally orient new staff, lead ongoing development and training and are always in touch with our families. They all have our cell phones and they know we are there for them. We are passionate about being the best and it has all come together beautifully.”

Teresa’s House is building a second location in Argyle which has a tentative opening date of spring 2023. Dixon said eventually, he and Teresa are working on an expansion of the Craig Ranch location as well to meet the overwhelming demand. Those who are interested in living at Teresa’s House can fill out the contact field on the website and check the box for receiving more information. Find more information on Teresa’s House on their website and Facebook page.

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